Admiral says
submarines needed
more than ever

By Gregg K. Kakesako
Star-Bulletin

The Cold War may be over, but the need for submarines that provide stealth and Tomahawk-missile strike capabilities continues to increase, said the head of the Pacific Fleet's sub force.

Rear Adm. Albert H. Konetzni Jr., commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet's Submarine Force, said treaties are meaningless without credible means of enforcement.

Speaking at the inactivation of the USS Hawkbill today, Konetzni said that 71 years ago 15 nations signed the Kellog-Briand Pact, also known as the Pact of Paris.

It was ratified eventually by 62 nations and was supposed to have "outlawed war" -- all conflicts were supposed to be settled by peaceful means, Konetzni added.

But because its effectiveness was negated by its failure to provide means of enforcement, the pact failed to prevent aggression by the Japanese in Manchuria in 1931, by Italy in Ethiopia in 1935 and by Germany in Poland in 1939, which triggered World War II.

"Without credible means of enforcement," said the admiral who commands the Pacific Fleet's 20 nuclear submarines, "without teeth, the policy and interests of even the most noble of causes, simply won't last."

He added, "If you're going to be the toughest guy on the block, you need to be the toughest guy on the block."

Today's nuclear fleet of attack submarines numbers at 58, but it's programmed to drop to 50 while some experts believe at least 72 are needed.

In addition to attack submarines, the Navy maintains 18 Trident class "boomers," each loaded with 24 intercontinental, nuclear-tipped missiles. The Tridents are programmed to drop from 18 to 14 by 2003

Konetzni said at the tip of the country's military presence for the past 30 years has been the USS Hawkbill, the last of the Pacific Fleet's Sturgeon class subs.

In the ship's last year of service the Hawkbill this summer conducted the fifth of five joint ventures between the Navy and the National Science Foundation to chart the Arctic.

The 33,962-mile around-the-world mission will be the subject of a one-hour CNN documentary at 3 p.m. Sunday.